sour cherry
by doodlechick12
Summary: The one in which everyone (except Giuseppe Salvatore) is gender bent and things . . . really end up pretty much the same anyway. Let it be noted that this is not a part of my story "To Build a Home."


**_The one in which everyone (except Giuseppe Salvatore) is gender bent and things . . . really up pretty much the same anyway._ **

**This might be crack. Or it could be very insightful. You may view it with whatever lenses that please you. Honestly, I just started to write because I was excited for the season 4 premiere next week and this . . . piece of writing emerged. **

**Also, if you're going to read, I highly suggest looking up the song this piece's title came from, called "Sour Cherry" by The Kills.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries or any quotes borrowed/modified.**

* * *

**sour cherry**

Dana Salvatore is twenty four when Kane Pierce becomes a ward of her father's, living in their home in Mystic Falls for an indeterminable amount of time.

Kane is wild and seductive with his curly dark hair and his dark brown eyes that pretend to be sweet and innocent; he's the antithesis to Dana's prim and proper façade she puts on for her insufferable father. Kane came into their small little town like a little lost boy and Giuseppe Salvatore, having no sons of his own to inherit and having trouble finding someone to marry off Dana to, brought the young man into their home as a ward.

It kind of backfires on everyone.

* * *

Dana watches enviously as Kane dances with Stefani at the Mystic Falls First Founder's Day Ball, his tall frame towering over Stefani's tiny one. They do the not-touching dance (Dana calls it that because she thinks it's ridiculous, and something that ridiculous needs a ridiculous name) perfectly, and Dana knows that if she and Kane had been dancing, they would have broken the rules.

Just like they usually did.

But Dana would see Kane that night in her bed, where he always went after leading Stefani on. Dana felt a twinge of guilt at that, because after all, she and Stefani were sisters and had used to be best friends, but there was something enigmatic about Kane Pierce the vampire, and Dana wanted him all to herself.

The vampire in question caught Dana's gaze across the room over Stefani's shoulder and gave her a wink. Dana gave him a coy smile in return that promised a good time later. Stefani danced on with Kane, oblivious.

Kane twirled Stefani one more time before leaving the party with her, making another twitch of jealous fill Dana up. She stays for an hour more before heading up to her room and she hears the tail end of an obviously private conversation.

"I know we've only known each other for a short while and that I'm in competition for your affections with my sister, but, uh . . . I've never met a man quite like you. Interrupt me if I am being too untoward, but when I look at you I see the face of an avenging angel . . . I touch your skin and . . . my body ignites. I kiss you . . . and I know that I'm falling in love."

There is a moment of silence in which Dana has a bated breath.

Stefani continues, "I'm in love with you."

Kane finally replies, "There's quite a bit that you don't know about me, Miss Salvatore . . . I'm going to say good night."

"I was much too forward," Stefanie murmurs and her upset is clear in her tone.

"No," Kane corrects quickly, "No, not at all. It's . . . flattering, Miss Sal- Stefani. But I really must part from you for the night."

Feeling vindictively happy, Dana waits until Kane has left the room and bumps in her in the hallway.  
"Kane," She breathes.

"Not now, Dana," He brushes her off.

"You asked to meet me here," Dana says quietly.

"Well, I'm tired now. You should go," Kane says with a stiff upper lip.

Dana flutters her eyelashes at him, "Did my little sister's confession overwhelm you?"

"You shouldn't eavesdrop," Kane snaps.

Devastation filling her, Dana asks, "Is my love not enough for you?"

"I said, _leave me be."_

Dana's mind fills with cotton and she nods, leaving Kane to his self for the evening.

* * *

Dana is furious months later when Stefani comes running to her to say that their father has captured Kane and plans to throw him into the tomb under the church to burn.

"You wretch! How could you let this happen?" Dana roars at her quivering sister.

"I didn't know that he'd do this!" Stefani screams back.

"Well, it's your mistake then that Kane is going to scorch in flames that consume him and his friends!" Dana snarls, "The least you can do is help me try to get him out!"

Stefani can't nod fast enough, "I'll help distract the men and you may go the cart to release him from his bindings." She sprints as soon as Dana nods, and the older girl hurries to the horse drawn cart where she saw the men pile vampires' bodies into.

She sees Kane through the gaps in the bars of the cart and promises she'll get him out. Dana uses the keys she swiped from her father and unlocks it just in time for Stefani to return.

"I led them far astray into the forest," Stefani assures her as they get vervain filled body out of the car. Dana can still see the bloody mark on Stefani's neck and her state of undress. Together, they get Kane out of the cart and down on the ground.

Unfortunately, a moment later they hear a sharp gun shot. Dana feels something burn through her heart and she slowly looks down to see blood pouring out of her. The last thing she sees before she dies is Stefani looking horrified and then being shot in the abdomen.

Dana wakes up by the river with a ring around her finger like Kane's and to Stefani's dead body next to hers. She knows she in transition.

Once Stefani wakes up and they talk, Dana realizes that it's not worth it to become a vampire, a creature of the night without Kane. She loves him, but he's dead.

She only wanted to be a monster with him.

Now she has her sister, a daylight ring, and the possibility for damnation for eternity.

* * *

Dana ends up turning anyway because of, wait for it, her moronic sister.

So she swears to have vengeance and make Stefani's (un)life an (un)living hell.

It's really kind of an excuse to take her anger out on someone, but also keep close so she can keep an eye on her troublesome sister.

* * *

Dana ends up back in Mystic Falls a hundred and forty-five years later after tagging along with her sister. She plans on staying just long enough to rescue Kane from the tomb, but then she meets Stefani's new beau, Eli, who happens to look just like Kane.

The result, unfortunately, is that Dana falls for the boy too.

Her life is shit, she thinks to herself.

* * *

Dana walks with the confidence of a hundred and seventy one year old vampire frozen in her twenty four year old body. She's tall at 5' 9" and even taller in her sleek black boots, putting her at almost 5'11" and she garners quite a lot of attention as she walks through the only the park in Mystic Falls for their volunteer day. She stands idly next to the refreshments table watches Sheriff Forbes run a stressed hand through his hair as he talks to Melody Lockwood.

It's suspicious.

"I can feel your disapproving glare on the back of my neck," Dana drawls a second later and her younger sister moves to stand next to her.

If Dana is unnaturally tall for a woman, then Stefani is ridiculously short at 4'11 ¾". Her own blondish-brown hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, accentuating the frown lines that are on display on Stefani's forehead as she gives Dana a disapproving look. She's wearing blue jeans, black boots, and a dark tank top that's loose on her small frame.

"You shouldn't have stabbed her at the part at Eli's," Stefani says to Dana quietly.

"Yes, well, you shouldn't have gone and tried to make peace on my behalf. I don't want peace," Dana sys loftily.

"I can see that," Stefani hisses, gesturing frantically, "But Melody's going to kill us, don't you see that?"

Dana rolls her eyes at Stef's dramatics and doesn't bother responding to that. Instead, she points over at the lean young man across the park under the roof of the picnic area. He continually shoots glances in their directions, while his burly blonde friend next to him watches anxiously.

"You and Eli get into a fight earlier?" Dana asks, winking, "Looks like he wants some comfort. Shall I go over and say hello to him and the real live Ken doll?"

Stefani's face gets flushed as she says, "Leave Eli and Charlie alone." Her green eyes are fierce.

Dana rolls her eyes again and meanders over to the drinks table. A little girl in a pretty blue dress offers her a cup of lemonade, which Dana graciously accepts. She promptly chokes and spits it back out to the chagrin of the girl and Stefani's horrified worry.

"Dana!" The shorter girl flutters around her and pushes her down into a sitting position, but Dana only sees red. Out of the corner of her vision, Dana can see Melody blowing her a kiss and she waves her fingers daintily.

Dana feels her fists clench. "She is going down. Let me up, Stefani; I'm going to bash that bitch's face inside her skull."

"Wait, wait, wait," Stefani pushes her back down, but Dana isn't having any of it.

"No, I'm not waiting," Dana snarks, "Now, let me up."

"She's gone too far this time," Stefani talks over her, "And she needs to be taken out, but let me come with you."

Dana feels a flash of surprise and she flashes Stefani a quick grin. "Let's go, then." She gets up and pulls Stef along with her. They pass Eli and Charlie who both look concerned now, and then their warlock not-friend, Benny who's glowering at Dana, until they finally corner Melody in the woods.

"Shouldn't have done that," Dana drawls, appraising her nails before looking up at the werewolf.

"Spiking the lemonade with vervain was a bad idea," Stefani agrees quietly.

Melody just arches her eyebrows and tries to look distinguished. "You think?" She pauses and then ducks. Confused, Stefani and Dana exchange confused glances.

"What the hell?"

They hear shotguns then and Dana feels the heat of a wooden bullet surge through her abdomen. Two more follow, but it takes a total of five to keep her down on the ground. She sees Stefani go down with only two because of bunny diet and her tiny frame. The last thing she sees is Sheriff Luke Forbes kicking her in the face, making everything go dark.

She wakes up in some kind of cellar deal and she groans.

"How many of you are there?" The Sheriff demands.

"Luke . . . ?" Dana blinks up and the man shoots her in the thigh, making her give a startled gasp of pain.

"Tell me how many of you there are, and what you're doing in Mystic Falls," The Sheriff demands roughly, "Or so help me, I will kill you slowly."

"I thought we were friends," Dana murmured, hurt. Luke takes his gun and shoots Stefani in the leg and Dana winces with empathy. Stirrings of anger rise in her gut though, and Dana tries to sit up.

Luke Forbes shoots her again, but then there's a whirl of activity in which Charlie and Eli arrive in the tomb.

"Don't hurt them!" Eli is snarling and Charlie's killed one of the deputies.

His mouth his bloodied and his fangs are out as he says, "Hey, Dad."

Dana let's her head fall back against the hard round, exasperated. Eli goes straight to Stefani and helps her sit up, his large frame dwarfing hers. Dana knows that Eli and she would meld seamlessly together if only the boy would get over his infatuation with her sister.

Dana drains on of the dead deputies before she even attempts to over and deal with the Sheriff. Offhandedly, she remarks, "Stef, you should get some of the people blood into you. You'll heal faster."

"I don't want any," Stefani predictably grunts.

"Come on –"

"She said she didn't want any, Dana, so back off," Eli says firmly as his dark eyes flash at Dana. The vampire sniffs and returns to her own meal shortly thereafter.

* * *

They deal with Melody and Kane eventually, but then they have to deal with the nuisance of the Original Eliza and her crazy sister Natasha, or as the rest of vampire society knows her as Tash.

Oh, and Tash wants to sacrifice Eli.

"Fuck my life," Dana thinks to herself.

Then Dana gets herself bitten by the last remaining Lockwood werewolf, Taylor. She says nothing about until after Eli's Uncle Jack's funeral. Even then, she waits until it's just Dana and Stefani to say anything.

"Taylor bit me," She says quietly into her younger sister's ear, "And we know what happened to Ron."

But of course, Stefani, being the righteous do-gooder that she is, locks Dana up in their very own dungeon while she hallucinates until Stef can find a "cure." Eli stays with her and takes care of Dana, and while the vampire might have felt some satisfaction of spending her last hours with Stefani's man a year ago, she doesn't now.

Dana just wants to go out peacefully. She's almost gone when she's jarred painfully back into the real world by a vial of sweet smelling blood being poured down her throat by Eli. She wakes up to find that Stefani's thrown the rest of her life away to go run around with Tash because it was the only way to save Dana's life.

* * *

When Stefani finally comes there, their lives are upturned by the fact that she and Tash are having a pissing fight over revenge and emotions and a bunch of shit that Dana doesn't care about. She really only wants Eli to stop pining over Stefani, who clearly is in a bad place where she shouldn't have any relationships.

Eli continues to pine.

On another note, the rest of the Originals come to town, including Mommy and Daddy, which stirs everything up even worse.

Just when everything seems to have gone to hell, it gets worse.

Eli turns into a vampire. All. Because. Stefani. Decided. To save. Marilyn. Before. Eli.

"Fuck my life," Dana says to herself as she and Stefani await Eli's awakening.

Fin.

* * *

_Approximate pictures of what the main gender bent cast looks like. The height is what the text describes, not what's indicated in the pictures. _

Stefani: www. imdb name/ nm 0364 583/

Dana: Katie McGrath

Kane/Eli: Evan Williams www. imdb na me / nm 0930570/


End file.
